White Lady Cocktail Recipe

White Lady


AKA – Chelsea Sidecar or Delilah

White Lady - Gin Cocktail
White Lady Cocktail

The White Lady is a drink known by a few names. The Chelsea Sidecar references its similarities to the Sidecar. I’m not sure where the White Lady name comes from. Delilah is the least commonly used, but it is my favorite.

Ready to make the perfect White Lady cocktail? This 1920s-style sour is crisp and tart with a beautiful white foam. The flavor is elegant and well balanced. Think lemon meringue pie in liquid form. You will want a second.

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A Gin Sidecar

Get out your cocktail shaker. This drink contains lemon juice which means it is a shaken drink. It also contains egg white, so you also have to do a little dry shaking to get nice a frothy.

  • Style of Cocktail – The White Lady is a gin based daisy.
  • Glass – this cocktail is typically served in a coupe or a chilled cocktail glass.
  • Egg white – You can make this drink with an egg white foam.

The White Lady is a gin daisy made with an a egg white foam. The recipe is exactly the same as the Sidecar, with the addition of the egg white. This drink looks great in a coupe glass with the thick foam on top.

White Lady Cocktail History

The White Lady is one of those classic cocktails with a muddled origin story.

Harry McElhone’s version appears to be the first bartender to create a drink called the White Lady. He created it at the Ciro Club in London in 1919. This version called for equal parts white crème de menthe, triple sec and lemon juice. The Savoy Hotel in London claims that it was created there by another Harry, Harry Craddock, the lead bartender at the Savoy for many years.

If that wasn’t enough there are a couple other contenders in the mix, at least two time cocktail shakers buried as time time capsules and a good story about Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Difford’s Guide has a good write up if you’re looking for the whole convoluted story.

How to Make a White Lady

Ingredients

There is

  • Gin – A standard, decent quality, London Dry gin will do the job here. Something with a little extra citrus is good. Avoid anything too subtle, it will get lost in the mix.
  • Cointreau – Cointreau is classic, but feel free to experiment with other orange liqueurs. Triple sec is a reasonable substitute. You can also add dry curaçao, but you may want to bump up the sugar a bit.
  • Lemon – Fresh lemon juice is the way to go here. There really is no substitute for fresh citrus.
  • Simple Syrup
  • Egg White – If the idea of raw eggs concerns you, feel free to use vegan cocktail foamer or aquafaba.

White Lady Cocktail Recipe

  • Sweet
  • Tart

The White Lady always reminds me a little of a classic orange cream soda. Gin and orange liqueur are a great combination. The egg white foam is a great textural element, but it does need a little fat to balance out the drying effects of the egg white.

Egg White Foams

Whenever you are making a drink with a egg white foam you will do a double shake. Shake the drink once with ice and once without. This will give you a good foamy head on the drink. You are basically turning the egg white into a meringue.

You can do it in either order. If you do the dry shake first it is easier. You can add ice to the shaker and strain it normally. You will get a much better foam if you shake the cocktail with ice first and then without. This requires straining the drink into a second shaker, so it may not be desirable.

White Lady Cocktail Recipe

  • 1 ½ oz London dry gin
  • ¾ oz Cointreau
  • 1/4 oz rich simple syrup
  • 1 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 1 fresh egg white
  • 1 orange twist for garnish
  1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
  2. Add gin, Cointreau , syrup, and lemon juice.
  3. Shake vigorously for 10 – 15 seconds.
  4. Strain the drink into a clean shaker with no ice and shake again for 10-15 seconds.
  5. Pour into into a chilled coupe glass.
  6. Twist orange zest over the drink and set on rim to garnish.
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